The Lokayukta Police arrested BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, the prime accused in the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents (KSDL) corruption case after the Karnataka High Court rejected his application for anticipatory bail.

The MLA represents Channagiri in the Davanagere district and was the chairman of KSDL until recently. He is one of the prime accused in the case.

The Court said there was sufficient evidence to show the involvement of petitioner (the BJP MLA) in the commission of offence”, the court said, while rejecting his application. The Lokayukta Police arrested him near the Kyathasandra toll plaza in Tumakuru while he was driving down to Bengaluru from his constituency.

The Court granted the MLA interim anticipatory bail on March 7. Virupakshappa had gone into hiding to escape arrest after Lokayukta caught his son Prashanth Madal red-handed while he was allegedly accepting a bribe on his father’s behalf on March 2. He was given a rousing welcome in his assembly constituency of Channagiri, Davangere after the interim bail was granted.

While the MLA’s counsel told the High Court that he was cooperating with the investigation, the prosecution argued that as Virupakshappa is an influential legislator, custodial interrogation is necessary to extract more information.

It is alleged that the contractor Prashanth was receiving the bribe from, wanted Virupakshappa to clear a tender for supply of raw materials to the PSU. Prashanth, the chief accountant of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), was allegedly receiving the first installment of a bribe on behalf of his father.

Lokayukta’s anti-corruption wing had recovered unaccounted cash of more than Rs six crore from his house and Rs 2.02 crore from the KSDL office. Five people have been apprehended and taken into custody. The incident has emboldened Congress to step up its attack on the state BJP government. With the assembly polls due by May, the Congress has been running a campaign accusing the government of demanding a 40% commission on every contract awarded, a charge the BJP has strongly denied. In April 2022, the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association alleged that some members of the state government were demanding a 40% commission from them. A contractor had committed suicide as he was unable to pay the bribes.